Review: Siam Tarapalace Hotel (Maha Sarakham, Thailand)

We’ve just checked into Siam Tarapalace Hotel in Maha Sarakham (Thailand) for the third time. As once again, service is consistently spotless, this little gem of a hotel warrants a rave review. Continue reading and I will tell you why I consider this the best value hotel in Isaan (to my personal experience, so far).

To be completely honest, I was even going to headline this post as Best Value hotel in Thailand (so far). While writing this review I realized that this wasn’t completely fair. In hospitality, location is everything. Siam Tarapalace Hotel is located deep in Isaan, in the univerity city Maha Sarakham. While the Isaan region truly is worth the visit, Sarakham (as the city is known by the inhabitants) is more cosmopolitan than you’d expect and there are important temples and parks around, it’s hardly the center of anything and tourist will mainly pass through it. Hence the title Best Value hotel in Isaan (so far).

Tarapalace hotel is easily accessible from Sarakham’s city center as it is by one of the main traffic arteries, yet set back from the road and even quite a few meters behind a first row of buildings, so nightly noise isn’t an issue whatsoever.

The front of the hotel has ample, well-kept and guarded parking. You can even drive underneath the atrium and have your luggage carried, right from the trunk.

The lobby is spotless and always looks freshly painted, as does the rest of the building, which is quite rare in Thailand. Reception is friendly, professional and swift.

The rooms are spacious, clean and crisp. Not a mark on a wall, not a scuff mark on the furniture, no mildew in the shower. WiFi is free, fast and by means of several access points.

We always opt for the cheapest Superior room (which is were the pictures were taken) and will continue to do so on any visit. The normal price is listed as 1200 Baht / night (around EUR 30) which would still qualify it as the bargain of the century, if the hotel were located in Bangkok, where it would easily qualify as a four-star hotel (according to local standards). Without any discussion or question we always get the Special Price of 600 baht / night. This does not include breakfast.

Why not a 5 star rating, you may wonder. Like previously mentioned, location is a factor. Two other facts motivate the loss of a star:

The room has a small refrigerator, which is empty. A selection of payed beverages would be practical, as the nearest 7-Eleven is relatively far off and implies crossing a dual carriageway.

The WiFi access points do not have any kind off identification or password. While convenient, it’s best to exercise caution when using the internet connection. Anyone could be lurking around, trying to capture the information in you traffic and you have no way to make sure which access point is genuine and which one could be a WiFi honeypot.

One our last visit (in 2015), we opted for the payed breakfast. Not only was the selection limited, ants infested the buffet table.